suffering for my art

I got my new tattoo today!

I think it looks great. Once the redness and swelling are gone I'll show you a picture.

Because of the way I had to hold my arm for 1 1/2 hours, it went completely numb. In fact, it's still not completely back to normal. It's just like when the freezing comes out at the dentist. You'd be surprised how hard it is to type with numb fingers.

It's about twice as big as my first tattoo, and filled in with colour, so it was a very different experience. It actually hurt this time!

Now I'm not so sure I want a big one across my shoulders anymore. Although I'm sure the discomfort will fade from memory in time and Ill do it anyway. Once you start you can't quit.

It was a good experience, and I would heartily recommend Gwen from Monster's Ink for your next work of art.

Oasis

Cycling with Caitlynn in Cypress Hills had a different feel than Revelstoke. The trip to BC was laid back and focused on friendship, but cycling with Caitlynn was just as much about pushing our bodies to the limit as it was about enjoying each other's company.

Caitlynn and I are pretty well matched in our technical skills, so neither one feels like they're holding the other back.

The trails in this park were created for cross-country skiing, but work well for biking, too. The handful that we picked were not too technical, but they were physically demanding, with grueling climbs to lookout points before rewarding us with roller coaster descents. Evening rains made things a little messier. I'd say we tackled about 30 kms of trails in 2 days.

I felt really proud of myself, especially after the muddy, rooty, rock-strewn ride down the Beaver Creek trail. More advanced riders will have a blast on that one.

Cypress Hills is an amazing anomaly; a mountain getaway smack in the middle of the bald prairie. It's like a trompe l'oeil. Everything looks normal and then suddenly, as you come over the crest of a gentle hill, boom. The lookout points are breathtaking. I bet we could see for 60 kms. It looked like a fairy tale kingdom, all shimmery in the heat and humidity.

Lodgepole campground was the nicest one in the Elkwater area. There was a cute little forestry museum dedicated to Tom Trott at the top of the Beaver Creek trail, and the wild flowers were in bloom everywhere. The biggest highlight for me was seeing the swarms of dragonflies along the Horseshoe Canyon trail. Every time we rode into a little clearing they filled the air. There were hundreds and hundreds of them. I could hear the hum of there wings all around me, and see the sun glinting off their transparent wings. It was other-worldly.

weekend warrior

This has been the summer of weekend road trips for me.

We started out with a wedding in Calgary, then Drumheller, then mountain biking in Revelstoke, BC, and Cypress Hills Park.

It was wonderful to avoid the crowded major national parks. In Revelstoke we did not come across a single other biker or hiker on the trails. Just us and a whole lot of trees.It was so much fun having our own little tent city in the KOA campground. We were camped right under a cherry tree loaded with ripe fruit and an oak tree with cute little acorns. There were about 15 of us, all sharing meals swatting mosquitos off each other.
Ironically, it was just as hot in the mountains as it was at home in Medicine Hat. It was good to spend the hottest part of the day at the lake before a cooler evening ride.